So, what’s this award all about?You can call it Favorite Blog Award, as “Liebster” is a German word for beloved, or dearest. However, there is neither competition nor a jury. It is like a chain letter, or in this case, a “chain tag”, meant to help new, but talented bloggers with less than 200 followers to be discovered by the rest of the world.

To accept this award, all you have to do is:

1. Link back and recognize the blogger who nominated you (this would be me :))2. Answer ten questions given to you by the blogger who nominated you (see the questions below).3. Nominate 3-5 other bloggers with less than 200 followers for the award.4. Create ten questions for your nominees to answer.5. Notify your nominees the way you were notified.

Now its my turn to let you know about my favorite blogs that totally deserve a “Liebster” award:

Not only does she blogs but she is also a YouTube vlogger. To be honest, I’m a little bit (read as a lot) shy at the idea of posting on her blog…I am THAT star struck! She does everything, from poetry to serious commentary about Jamaica and politics to hilarious reviews of Scandal. You have to check her out!

A beautiful blog written by a truly talented artist. She is passionate about a wide variety of topics and will make you passionate about it too. She recently visited Jordan and took amazing photos and her posts about feminism *sigh*…mind blowing!

Lately,I’ve been seeing a lot of articles about how awesomeintroverts are

and hilarious commentary about the problems introverts face.

Now I think that it is well fine and dandy. I mean hooray for the exposure this underrated group is getting.

The more people understand the group, the more accepting people will be

of their quirks and they will no longer be labelled names like

“anti-social”

“stuck up”

“weird”

But what I have been noticing in these articles and in the comment sections, is a superiority tone.

It may be subtle (i mean they are introverts…can’t expect bold 😛 ) but it is there.

Comments that suggest that because they enjoy being by themselves…

that they therefore love themselves more than extroverts.

Or

because they spend more time in their heads….

it means that they are “deeper thinkers.”

Or

because they might read more books…

it means that they are more intelligent.

NO! STOP IT!

As someone who have been labelled an introvert for most of my life but who has become a self proclaimed Ambivert (don’t know what it is? Google it!)…..I’m beyond tired of the debate and the judgement that seems to come along with it. Neither trait trumps the other!

And instead of these new articles taking on a fresh angle…

they resort to the same old playground games of screaming that

“I’m better than you na na na boo boo” crap!

Being an introvert simply means, that individual gets energy from within

#MyWednesdayConfession: I miss kisses on the forehead. Arms that are strong enough to bear the weight of the world (or at least that’s how strong they feel to me). A dent in the pillow next to me. Romance, and butterflies and breathless anticipation. I miss being kissed until I forget my argument. I miss hearing, “I’ll help you.” “I got you.” and my personal favorite, “Don’t worry about it; I’ll take care of it.” I miss feeding someone. And hugging someone. And being teased about how anal I am about clutter and how I probably have a touch of OCD, lol.

The irony of all of this- my ex wasn’t these things. He wasn’t romantic, or very affectionate- or helpful. He certainly never shouldered any weight for me. But I miss those things. I miss everything they tell you real love is going to be. I miss what I thought we would be.

Lesson of the Day- they say you can’t miss what you never had… “they” are wrong… sometimes you can.

When I say i’m in love with you it means that you are the first person I think about when I hear a funny joke or see a funny video on YouTube.

It means that when I lay awake at nights in my insomniac state, you are the main topic i’m thinking of. Well the two of us and your smile in particular.

When I say i’m in love with you, it means that when i’m having a not so good day or even a moment, a extra long embrace from you is all I desire. You know…where my head snuggles comfortably on your collar bone and where my nose is strategically place to maximize the smell of your cologne? Yea that one.

It means that I love how we have to sleep snuggled closely to each other because I always steal the covers. Even when i’m sleeping, i’m trying to be close to you.

When I say i’m in love with you it means that in everything I daydream about the future, from graduations to vacations and to my best friend’s wedding, I imagine you being right there beside me.

And in all my sexual fantasies, you are the featured star.

When I say i’m in love with you it means that I find myself wanting to do all that traditional woman stuff like cook you dinner, do your laundry, make the house sparkly clean and oh yea bare your children. Let you open doors for me and always let you be the driver. And if being in love with you means silencing my raging feminist side…i’m cool with it and that’s love!

My niece just experience this recently and it got me and my sister talking about our experiences.

It was the April before my 11th birthday and I was up late one night with my brother and my older female cousin.

I was wearing a white underwear and one of my dad’s old t-shirts.

YUP i remember a lot of details about that night. I was so excited. It was like a confirmation that I was now a big girl 🙂

By that time I had already been wearing a bra and I was taller than most of my grown female cousins. Like most young girls…I just wanted to be older.

It wasn’t a surprise to me. My mom had suspected it was coming soon so she and my aunt had the talk with me about what to expect. I remember my aunt showing me how to put on a pad and then she even gave me my own pack. I guess this explains my own feelings of responsibility of informing my niece of the need-to-know stuff.

See for me this day was a positive experience and I believe it shaped my overall openness and how comfortable I am with matters such as sex and my body.

All too often this day is met by many with uncertainty, surprise and embarrassment because they were never informed. Many of these women then unfortunately look at their periods as The Curse that is to be dreaded every month. They fail to realize the amazing mechanics behind it and that it means that they are now physically (though absolutely not mentally or emotionally) ready to bring forth life and that one day they will be able to bare that miracle.

As a result of open communication about it, my niece had a look of excitement on her face when she shared her special news. She was fully prepared and was not scared or embarrassed. Me and my sister even made it extra special by creating a gift bag full of girly goodies such as nail polishes, lip gloss and teen magazines.

I have come to accept that dating is really like going on an interview. You get asked similar questions like

“Tell me a about yourself?”

“Where do you see yourself in the future?”

and while this might not be a question asked out right, it is one that is expected to be answered by the end of the date ” What can you bring to this relationship?”Essentially you are selling yourself and I am no good at that. Hence why the scariest thing to me about graduating from college, is the fact that I will have to go on interviews for jobs.

The entire process is nerve wrecking for me. I never have the right answers to those questions. I get quiet, shy, forget to smile and don’t let my personality show. Apparently all of which is a no no when it comes to having a successful date (and interview)

So at this point, i’m contemplating having prepared and approved answers going into my next date. This way I can respond in a witty way that answers the question while displaying my playful side. Something that is completely non threatening seeing that apparently I come across as being too strong and too intellectual.

No I’m not talking about dumbing myself down or changing who I am as a person. But improving my dating skills. And to me that includes being mindful of how I come across to other people and seeing where I can make adjustment. Because of course…I have many flaws!

Hopefully with practice, I’ll be able to iron out my dating technique.